On the 30th anniversary of the 1996 IRA bombing of Manchester, victims are being urged to apply to a pension scheme for those left permanently disabled from an incident in Northern Ireland's troubled past.
Applications to the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme will close in August. The Victims' Payments Board is keen to reach those who suffered a permanent disablement, either physical or psychological, as a result of a Troubles related injury, and may now live in England, Scotland or Wales.
They include those caught up in the June 15, 1996 attack on Manchester city centre which injured more than 220 people. The scheme has paid out more than £123 million to victims to date.
Charity Assists Victims
Kenny Donaldson, director of the Northern Ireland-based terror attack survivors charity SEFF, said the group would assist victims in making an application. He added: "We are aware that relatively speaking, there continues to be limited numbers of applications which have been submitted from victims/survivors based outside of Northern Ireland.
"This includes the dozens impacted by the 1996 Manchester bombing, as the anniversary approaches we issue an appeal for such individuals to reach out to us.
"There is an ongoing and live request of The Secretary of State to extend the scheme beyond August 30, 2026, this must happen - failure to deliver for GB-based victims/survivors is one of the core reasons why this is absolutely necessary. We cannot continue to subject victims/survivors to a postcode lottery."
Former Secretary Encourages Applications
Speaking in May, former Northern Ireland secretary Lord Hain encouraged potential victims to make applications. He said: "There may be those, especially in Great Britain, who don't yet know about the scheme and it's important that the message gets out that it exists, and for those who qualify it is truly life changing."
Further information and application forms can be found online. SEFF can be contacted on 028 677 23884 or welfarereferrals@seff.org.uk.
